1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of performing a multiple Pre-Shared key (PSK) based authentication in a single procedure and a system for performing the method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of combining a user identifier and the PSK in a terminal, and authenticating the terminal in an authentication server by using the combined user identifier and the PSK, and a system for performing the method.
2. Description of Related Art
An authentication system indicates a system which can verify whether a user who accesses a computer via a network is a registered user or an authorized user, by using a secure method. The authentication system is particularly important to an open network. In this instance, a key portion of the authentication system is software referred to as an authentication server which is in charge of the user's name, password, and the like. The authentication server verifies that the user is an authorized user himself/herself by using an authentication protocol which is encrypted with respect to a service program. An example of the authentication system may comprise an authentication service of a Xerox Network System (XNS) which is a Protocol system of American Xerox Corporation. Such an authentication system was not included in UNIX, until Kerberos was developed based on the Athena Project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Each time an authentication process of the authentication system is performed, the authentication process incurs a certain latency. As an example, a challenge handshake authentication protocol (CHAP), which encrypts a simple password and transmits the encrypted password, requires one round-trip between a mobile device and a home domain. Through this, the latency for the one round-trip is incurred for each authentication.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a latency for two authentications according to a conventional art. In particularly, in FIG. 1, the diagram illustrates an authentication request and an authentication process between a mobile device 101 and an authentication server 102, and the latency which is incurred by the process.
Referring to FIG. 1, in step 103, the mobile device 101 requests the authentication server 102 for a first authentication. A first latency is incurred in step 105 until an authentication according to the request is performed in step 104. After the authentication, the mobile device 101 requests the authentication server 102 for a second authentication in step 106. A second latency is incurred in step 108 until an authentication according to the request is performed in step 107.
As described above, when a mobile device requires at least two authentications, for example, a device authentication and a subscription authentication respectively, a double network login latency is incurred. The incurred latency is an issue for achieving seamless handovers of a wireless terminal.
Specifically, in the authentication method according to the conventional art, a plurality of independent authentications, which are required to be transmitted before a wireless terminal accesses a desired service, incur a latency which is generated by multiplying the latency for each authentication and a number of the authentications. Accordingly, handovers are not generated regularly when communicating with a base station.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved apparatus and method for performing authentication in a single procedure, at least to reduce the latency.